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Friday, January 22, 2016

Family Fun & Celebrations

I have had a busy and very FUN last couple of weeks...

AND FINALLY I have internet AGAIN! It has been a struggle to find out exactly why it wasn't working... Norm spent HOURS on the phone and repair men were here for HOURS. We thought it was fixed and then HOURS (may have been minutes!) later it was down again. The culprit was underground wiring which will be replaced tomorrow. They temporarily ran wiring from the main cable up the light pole out front to the house so that I can have internet tonight (yay... blog catchup!) and watch television! Yippee! I am hopeful that my weekly posts won't be delayed again once the repair is complete.

Now for the catch up!

We went to our very first concert as a family! We made it an exciting road trip weekend to San Diego.

Rooftop Bar at Hotel Indigo

We stayed downtown at the Hotel Indigo and enjoyed walking to and eating at lots of fantastic restaurants in the Gaslamp District.

First shot together!

After dinner we explored as we walked and were drawn into the Tequila Bar. Norm and Leila realized they had never had a shot together... So here is the documentation of the first Dad and Daughter shot. We decided that 28 years old was a good age to have this happen.

Inspiration...

More inspiration!

While walking around I had to stop to take a couple of photos of things that caught my eye... I loved the patterning in both of these! I ESPECIALLY love the way the second photo shows the negative and positive light in the shadows. This is a great reference photo for me. I am looking forward to playing with this in a future piece.

Blowing steam into the hot room!

Lobby of this large studio

Our weekend trip happened during the first week of the newest yoga challenge at the studio I attend. This meant that I needed to find time and a studio to practice at while in San Diego. Luckily the Bikram Yoga San Diego studio was only four miles away from our hotel, making it very easy to get to. The studio is MUCH larger than the one I practice at. (The first photo shows only about a 1/3 of the room.) The instructor had to use a microphone. It was good for me to step outside of my comfort zone and practice at another studio, BUT I sure did miss the feel of a friendly community AND the super CLEAN smelling studio that is Bikram Yoga Agoura Hills! (Thank you, Rachel!)

Brunch at The Mission

My babies

We had such an enjoyable brunch at The Mission. I splurged on the fancy mocha drink (as did both girls)! I also tried their banana bread... it. was. SCRUMPTIOUS!!!

Vertical succulent garden

I adore succulents and was in l-o-v-e when we walked past these beautiful garden installations after brunch.

Doing our tourist photo!

Old Town San Diego was so much fun to wander around. We loved listening to the mariachi band, watching the dancers, and exploring all the little shops. I was so happy to find my newest studio angel... with the absolutely perfect message! I also bought some lovely little talavera bowls and plates.

My adorable silly girls

The perfect find for my studio!

The concert was a lot of fun and VERY loud! You could feel it! (Luckily Leila provided me with some earplugs for Christmas that just "turned down the volume" while not diminishing the overall sound.)

Opening band: 3Teeth

Second band: Primus

Main Event: Tool

Tool

Tool... again

Of course... I was a super fan of the visuals and lights!

It has been so nice to have Cami home for the past month. She is always so much fun to be around and brings such joy to the house. It is hard to believe that the month is now ending and she heads back to school on Saturday. A month goes by quickly.

Isn't he adorable?!

Cami took this photo on one of the days she took Clark down to the park to play. He sure is going to miss his sister while she's gone again.

Meeting Cami's boyfriend's family

We met Cami's boyfriend in "real" life (already had met and talked via FaceTime) and his lovely family. We had a wonderful brunch and spent the afternoon together. Cami and Zach went to Magic Mountain for her pre-birthday celebration. They had a BLAST riding all the rollercoasters. Norm and I made sure we had her traditional birthday party cookie cake waiting when they got home. As you can see... she was very happy!

NINETEEN!!!

I feel so blessed to have had nineteen years so far with this smart, funny, caring, gorgeous woman. I am looking forward to all the years ahead... watching her grow and experience life.

MANY birthday celebrations!

My lovely daughters once again!

All the excursions and activities kept my art to a minimum the past couple of weeks... I have been keeping up with working on a new tangle a day though. Here is the calendar break down in my Hobonichi Journal. I am working on whatever the tangle of the day is as posted in the "Tangled & Journal, Too!" Facebook group. So far they have all been new to me tangles. I play around with the tangle a little on the actual date in the journal and then recap here in the monthly view. I like that at the end of the year I'll have a "key" of tangles. I can look at the monthly view and go to the date to see how I played around with the tangle. I supplement this with posting each step out in the app, Evernote. So far, I think that this system is working well for me.

Next week I should be able to participate in some challenges and work on getting caught up on some of my art projects. YAY! My entertainment will be back at school (not so yay), it will be time to get back to work!

I'll leave you with this stunning sunrise photo that I took from the front door of the yoga studio... I LOVE early morning classes! Yoga with a sunrise bonus!

...and I'm a Jamberry Consultant...

...And A Certified Copic Designer with...

Hi! I’m Holly… and I have an addiction… to all things ZENTANGLE® (art-and-crafts-and-cooking-and-baking-and-Bikram yoga…). I really think this is a very healthy (overall) addiction(s) to have. Anyway, that’s what I tell my ever-so-patient, awesome husband.
I live in Southern California, and am blessed to be a mom to the two most amazing daughters (also CZTs)! They are a constant inspiration… I also have the most adorable furry puppy-son.
I am absolutely thrilled to be a Certified Zentangle Teacher™! I feel so lucky to share this amazingly inspirational and meditative art method with my students. I encourage all to take a class! You’ll love the experience!